McLellan’s thought on ex-roommate Boudreau’s hiring, Handzus to play, more on reunited 2nd line and evaluating Burns

Longtime readers might remember that Todd McLellan and Bruce Boudreau were roommates back in the late ’80s when both were forwards with the Springfield Indians of the AHL.

So as much as McLellan may be tired of answering questions about fired NHL coaches lately, I had to throw another one at him this morning, twisting it to reflect on Boudreau’s hiring in Anaheim more than Randy Carlyle’s firing.

After all, though McLellan has faced Boudreau before, now the two of them will be on opposing benches six times a season going forward.

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“We were roommates in the minors and now we’re statemates, I guess,” McLellan said before reflecting on last night’s strange events.

“You always have mixed emotions,” the Sharks coach said. “I’m really happy that Bruce is back. He deserves to be and he’s one of the top coaches in the league in my opinion. He’s a very good man and I think the players there will enjoy playing for him.

“But in the same breath,” he continued, “having been in Detroit and having those battles with Anaheim leading up to their Stanley cup championship and then being here in this conference, I have a ton of respect for not only Randy but also his staff for the job they did there.

“We talked about Bruce’s qualities. Randy’s are right there with him. It’s unfortunate that somebody has to go and it always seems like it’s the coach. A good day for Bruce and obviously not a good one for a tremendous coach in Randy.”

Any stories to share from those days in Springfield?

“Not with you guys,” McLellan said.

*****Michal Handzus will be in the lineup tonight against Montreal. “He felt good yesterday, he felt good this morning so he’ll play,” the coach said.

*****McLellan provided a direct answer when asked about his decision to reunite Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe and Marty Havlat tonight on the second line.

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“We haven’t got the offense that we wanted to out of Clowe and Marty Havlat lately,” the coach said. “It’s as simple as that.”

If you missed it (and how could you!?!?), a story in Wednesday’s print edition spelled it out:

Clowe hasn’t scored in 10 games. Havlat has only one goal this season, but he had been averaging an assist per game through the first month. In the past nine games, Havlat has one assist.

“Clowe has a good understanding of where Logan goes and how he plays,” McLellan continued. “Marty, we’re trying to fit him in somewhere. Eventually, he’s got to find a way to get himself into scoring situations. He’s got to put himself in spots where he can get second opportunities and maybe this shuffle will help.”

*****McLellan was also asked to assess Brent Burns performance one-fourth of the way into the season. Here’s what the coach had to say:

“Up and down. But we expected that with him, coming into a new environment and being the focal point at the beginning of the year.

“I really believe in the last seven or eight games, he’s settled down. He’s defending much better. Offensively he’s getting a number of real good shooting opportunities. Pucks aren’t going for him, but he’s still producing points for us and we really believe we have the right guy there.

“He fits in really well in the locker room and the guys enjoy having him around,” the coach added. “There are some guys that are quiet and there are some guys that energize the team. He’s certainly not the first one.”

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

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“FIT HIM IN SOMEWHERE”??? Really TODD?? Guess that’s a good way to say you should have left the line alone, huh. Doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence that you know what you’re doing

Clemenza

Let’s see your resume, Pete.

Thought so.

wyldbull

You know what is great about tonight? The Sharks are playing! Win or lose, hopefully win…its going to be fun to watch. I get warm fuzzies when the Sharks play.

GO SHARKS!!!

SCSharksFan

GSDI!!!!!

Ryan Holmes

I can’t wait to here pete (or was it peter) break down the game tape in the post game analysis!

Pete how would you play a two on one break as the lone defensemen? I need to know this…..

Linkster

Ha!

McLellan awfully sheepish about those days back in Springfield with Boudreau… 1988… Run DMC and NWA cranking on the radio… wind rippling through his badger curls… cruising Amherst College for hockey groupies…

So many un-repeatable memories!

Dirty

I hope none of those stories involve the dreaded Rear Admiral.

ZEKE

I got no issue with TMc tinkering. You need to be able to change combinations for a bunch of reasons of the course of a season … doing it now makes it easier later.

NickG

Grier retired. Damn, loved that guy’s determination and grit when he was here.

Ryan

Very excited to see PK Subban and the habs tonight! One of the best franchises in all of sports history in the tank! Sharks will prevail 4-1

@Pete: so if it’s so simple, where does Havlat fit in? Yeah Todd doesn’t know what he’s doing–Stanley Cup winner, back to back west finals, 3x pacific div. champs….etc.

David Pollak

NickG,

Agree, and a few thoughts on Mike Grier’s retirement coming a little later. Stay tuned.

David

capnblinky

tinkering with that line in the first place is what got marleau producing. seems to be a zero-sum game so far. move players around, someone produces and someone doesn’t. marleau won’t score as much on the wing.

Scum Bum

It’s nice to see that Dirty & Linkster have retained their fine form from last thread.

JB

The Habs can zip around on the ice some so the Sharks better have their system going well; winning faceoffs, good passing, avoiding turnovers etc. or they’ll spend serious time chasing the puck.

azshark90

Marty is/ will be fine, people need to ne patient. Still very early, still like his game more than a Heatley or setoguchi

Emily Hall

@ Pete: Relax! Everything’s gonna be okay.
Re: Mike Grier retiring. Gosh, I loved him when he was a Shark. I did a parody of the theme from Shaft using Mike Grier as the Shaft character. Never recorded it though. Wish I had cuz it was a hoot.

But here’s a parody I just finished to celebrate the 6th anniversary of “The Trade”, Joe’s 1000th game & 700th point. It called “Joe Thornton”. I think some of you may recognize the band and this 80’s EPIC love song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj5z3HMwOFA
GO SHARKS! BEAT THE HABS!!!

Not Again

Antti Miettinen is preparing to leave Europe and come back to the NHL. Anybody want him?

I don’t like what TMac is saying about Havlat. Read between the lines and he is saying that Marty isn’t going in the trenches and trying to dirty his hands a bit to score. That is telling you one of two things. Either Marty is super soft or what I alluded to in a post yesterday which is he came back to soon from the labrum injury and he is shying away from contact. Either one is a bad omen for the Sharks.

Snow Shovel

Emily – Great job! Great tribute to Joe! Randy and Drew should show some of that on the broadcast tonight.

Linkster

If Miettinen comes back, woudn’t he need to clear waivers? If so, I think Anaheim or Columbus gets first crack. Either could use him.

Emily Hall

@snow shovel Thanks. I tweeted the link to Randy and Drew, hopefully they listen to it, but I’ve tweeted links to my other parodies and have never heard back. Oh well. I just hope that maybe some good game mojo comes from it, like it did with the other parodies I did like “Marleau Baby” and “Three”.

Ben Dash

Sharks have a new motivator: TMac can tell them if they don’t play well for him, they’ll get Randy Carlyle for their next coach

Z-Man – LOL. but no can do. I do however have a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon and we talk sports and athletic injuries all the time on a general basis. I think by any standard Havlat came back from the surgery and rehab on the early side of things. That said, he is a top athlete in or around the prime of his life so he should heal faster than most. In addition, he was probably the one pushing his return not the Sharks. As long as nobody has huge expectations of scoring goals and he can make contributions I guess it is all good.